


Nightclub

by The_Alias (Artemis_Day)



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Bingo Fill, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, MCU RarePairs Bingo 2019, Pre-Relationship, Prompt Fill, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Jane Foster, Undercover as a Couple, movie quotes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:33:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24358876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artemis_Day/pseuds/The_Alias
Summary: Bucky grinned. “Just promise you won’t really fall in love with me.”Jane wanted to laugh.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Jane Foster
Comments: 12
Kudos: 29
Collections: MCU RarePairs Bingo 2019





	Nightclub

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ellerigby13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellerigby13/gifts).



> Based on a prompt from Ellerigby13 "You have to promise you won't fall in love with me."
> 
> Also written for:  
> MCU Rarepairs Bingo Square I5: Undercover

They were at an upscale nightclub in the heart of Manhattan, the kind of place Jane would’ve had to sell a kidney to get into any other night. Polished marble tabletops, a bar stocked high with colorful liquids, and cocktail waitresses who looked like they’d been hired from a modeling agency. Triangular wall decorations, a DJ taking up a full corner with his equipment. The dance floor was raised several inches off the ground with corners Jane scratched her ankles on when she walked too close.    


Somewhere in this club and the mass of well-dressed rich people was a man who wanted nothing more than to kill her and steal her life’s work. God willing, he’d be behind bars before the week was up. Or in an alley with a bullet between his eyes. Jane was hoping more for the former.

“I feel ridiculous,” she mumbled, pulling her blue sequined dress over her thighs. No matter how many times she checked in the mirror, it always felt like her ass was exposed.

Beside her, Bucky frowned. “You don’t look any different from any other woman here. Just relax.”

Why the hell did people think telling someone to relax would make them relax? Jane never understood that.

“Name,” the bleached blonde woman at the hostess stand said as they approached.

“Tucker, Lance,” Bucky said, rattling off one of his many aliases like it truly belonged to him. He pulled Jane tighter to his side. “And guest.”

The hostess sized Jane up. She was obscenely tall, almost Bucky’s height, with curves that made Jane feel like an insecure high schooler. After a moment, she nodded at Bucky. “Right this way, Mr. Tucker.”

The first time they met, right after Jane narrowly avoided exploding with the rest of her apartment, he had told her to call him Bucky. Just Bucky. That evening, while he fished through his catalog of fake IDs, Jane had read the names over his shoulder. Chase Collins, Christopher Beck, Dayton White. None of them fit him. 

“Are any of these real?” she’d asked as he stuffed a brand new wallet full of unmarked cash.

“Just call me Bucky,” he said, and that was the end of that.

Their table was by the window, looking out at the city skyline. Jane had to admit, it was a beautiful sight, though the lights paled in comparison to the stars. Speaking of which, the sky was murky black. All that damn light pollution. This was why she hated urban living. If only she could go back to New Mexico…

“Hey, focus,” Bucky said, snapping her out of her daydream. “I know stakeouts are boring, but the faster we find this guy, the sooner you get to go home.”

Jane puffed out her cheeks. “I  _ was _ focusing,” she said.

“Sure thing,” said Bucky, plucking a menu off the table. “We're better off staying sober tonight, but if you want a non-alcoholic drink, the raspberry mojito is pretty good.”

“I’ll think about it.” She scanned the dance floor and the bar for a familiar face. Most people had their backs to her and even the hairstyles were all pretty similar. 

“Recognize anyone?” Bucky asked.

“Not yet,” Jane said, “but no one’s pulled a gun on me, so that’s a good sign.”

Bucky chuckled. “Nah, these guys are smarter than that. They wouldn’t dare attack you in public. That’s why we’re going to flush them out.”

“What if they figure out that we’re on to them?”

“We have back-up.” 

He glanced at the bar, where a glamorous woman with bright red hair took a drink from the tall, blonde bartender. On cue, they both looked at Jane and Bucky’s table, nodded once, and then returned to their business. 

“Looks like you guys have thought of everything,” Jane remarked, fiddling with her napkin.

“You don’t know the half of it.”

A waitress came and took their orders. Though Jane would’ve happily downed a hundred daiquiris to get herself through this, she took Bucky’s advice and ordered the mojito. While enjoying their drinks, they engaged in small talk. Asking each other random questions about their favorite movies or the weather made them look like any other couple on a fun night out. Jane felt more like an awkward middle schooler on her first date, but at least no one was staring.

“Have you ever been here before?” Jane asked as their conversation about pizza toppings (he liked  _ anchovies _ of all things?) fizzled out.

“Once or twice,” Bucky said. “Only for missions. It’s not really my kind of hang out.”

“More of a sports bar kind of guy?”

His lip twitched. “Sometimes, but I prefer museum cafes.”

Jane blinked, her pre-written response about not being much of a sports person but liking the atmosphere dying in her throat. “Museums? Really?”

Bucky shrugged. “The food is overpriced, but I can afford it. Plus, I just like learning new things. History, art, science…”

His voice died off as he seemed to realize how transparent he was being. The enigmatic, handsome spy persona he had carefully cultivated faded away to reveal the true man within. Unless that was just Jane’s long-buried romantic side rearing its’ ugly head. He really was very handsome.

A woman appeared from the crowd. Not the redhead from the bar, but a brunette wearing an ocean blue floor-length gown with a split thigh and a cowl neck. Stiletto heels click-clacked across the floor just barely drowned out by the music. She didn’t look like one of Bucky’s associates, though it wasn’t like Jane could tell the difference. Still, it seemed unlikely that a fellow spy would so brazenly approach them in the middle of a mission.

“Hey Lance,” she said, her voice low and seductive. “I haven’t seen you lately.”

Bucky’s smile became decidedly fake. “Carrie. Good to see you.”

“I thought you’d forgotten about me.”

“I’ve been busy.”

The woman finally noticed Jane and gave her a distasteful look before returning her attention to Bucky. “I see you have a new friend. Here I thought I’d be the one on your arm after such an amazing night.”

“We did have a very nice dance.” Bucky picked up the menu and pretended to read it. “It’s good to see you again, Carrie, but Nina and I would like to enjoy our evening alone.”

It took Jane a moment to remember her fake name for the evening and realize Bucky was talking about her. The woman pouted, not before shooting Jane a rather nasty look. It set something off in her that she couldn’t define. Within a week, she’d been blown up, lost all her worldly possessions, been whisked away from her normal life by government agents, and gotten tangled up in a world of international espionage trying to find whoever wanted her dead before she had to spend the rest of her life wasting away in the witness protection program. 

Now this woman thought she could steal Jane’s fake boyfriend!

“Oh my god, I love this song!” Jane squealed as the DJ put on Random Dance Song no. 672. She grabbed Bucky’s hand. “Come on, Lance, let’s dance. Nice meeting you, Carrie.”

The last part was an afterthought as she dragged Bucky across the room, all the way to the opposite end of the dance floor. 

“Nice job,” Bucky whispered in her ear. “For a second there, I thought you really were jealous.”

“Well, you looked uncomfortable. I figured I should do something,” Jane said.

Bucky grinned. “Just promise you won’t really fall in love with me.”

Jane wanted to laugh- that was the funniest thing she’d ever heard in her life- but as they danced, she couldn’t help picturing the two of them in another setting. Like a quieter restaurant or one of Bucky’s museums. Or maybe an observatory where she could teach him about the stars

It sounded kind of nice…

But that was probably the mojito talking.


End file.
